68. Sarah Cracknell, Lipslide (Instinct, 2000)
Originally released in Europe in 1997 during a four-year Saint Etienne sabbatical, this is an important transitional album for that band's chanteuese. Simply put, this is where she learned how to sing. Not that she couldn't before--on earlier recordings, her voice was admittedly thin, although it had a singular, defining presence that added a lot to its surroundings. But here, you can really hear her voice developing and deepening as she tries out orchestral blue-eyed soul, winsome mid-tempo dance pop and shamelessly retro disco, all with unexpectedly strong returns. This belated US release swaps four tracks for four better ones, including the sparse, delicate bossa nova, "Oh Boy, The Feeling When You Held my Hand".
Originally released in Europe in 1997 during a four-year Saint Etienne sabbatical, this is an important transitional album for that band's chanteuese. Simply put, this is where she learned how to sing. Not that she couldn't before--on earlier recordings, her voice was admittedly thin, although it had a singular, defining presence that added a lot to its surroundings. But here, you can really hear her voice developing and deepening as she tries out orchestral blue-eyed soul, winsome mid-tempo dance pop and shamelessly retro disco, all with unexpectedly strong returns. This belated US release swaps four tracks for four better ones, including the sparse, delicate bossa nova, "Oh Boy, The Feeling When You Held my Hand".
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